By Mia Roberts

I log onto my Facebook account and am faced immediately by the comment; ‘migrants and Muslim/Islam that cause sh*t have gotten away with thier cr*p for too long…im not racist but if u live in this country then respect our rules…we have to in urs..’ and the depth of hostility towards Muslims finally hit home. Aside from the obvious obscenities and bad grammar, the comment seems to encapsulate a generally accepted antagonistic attitude towards Islam, despite the individual’s assurances that they are, indeed, ‘not racist’. Well that’s a relief, because had you not said that, I would have been deeply offended.

I am not, by any means, a person who enjoys accusing the entire western world as being Islamophobic. Being of an utterly western background myself, it would be unbefitting to accuse my own people of hating me; doing so would indicate that I have no non-Muslim friends, and almost allude to a hint of self-loathing for not being a born Muslim from an eastern family, which is completely not the case. Continue reading Reflections of a Western Muslim

Guest Post by Abu Talha

So you meet a brother who feeds you the story that he has no money, he wants to learn about Islam and needs help because all his life he has associated with the ‘wrong crowd’. He tells you he has no family. He tells you about his past; stories about alcohol and drug abuse melts your heart. He wants to associate with you, and learn from you. What is a Muslim to do? Quite naturally you take this brother under your wings, and to the best of your ability, you help him. You don’t question him, nor do you judge him. You comfort him, and tell him that Allah is the giver of mercy and that it is your duty to help a fellow Muslim in difficulty. You are motivated by the Hadith you hear all the time. This is when you can actually put the words of the Messenger of Allah into action: Continue reading The spy who betrayed me

By Abu Muhammad

Syed Qutb’s accomplishments are without doubt. He struggled for justice and freedom and gave his life for that cause. We ask Allah to accept him among the Shuhada (martyrs) and the righteous. However, this does not mean that he or anyone else for that matter is immune from mistakes and error. Only the prophets of Allah are saved from this.

We do not blindly follow individuals, only the Prophet deserves that treatment. In the case of everyone else we should question and, if needed, correct them.

In his call for immunity from mixed cultural sources, Syed Qutb (as highlighted in my previous posts) made a mistake in regarding the whole of society as Jahili (in ignorance of Islam). This seems to go against the Islamic perspective of history and the succession of civilisations. Continue reading Qutb and the Jahiliyyah concept

By Abu Muhammad

In ‘What I Believe’, Dr Tariq Ramadan’s latest book, he endeavours to clarify some of the misunderstood positions he holds. It is aimed at ordinary people, journalists, politicians, social workers, teachers and others, who do not have the time or perhaps sometimes the capacity to grasp the academic and philosophical language he employs in his writings. This book sets out to clarify the basic ideas which he has been advocating for more than twenty years.

This is long overdue. I have personally come across many people who attack and call Dr Ramadan and others of having deviant opinions and hence label him and the others like him of being deviant. When asked if they have read his works, the response almost always is in the negative. Continue reading What I believe

By Abu Muhammad

During a visit to the local historical attractions, while a student in Amman (Jordan), a classmate made a remark which started an enthralling discussion on religion, culture and revival.

While admiring the remains and colosseums the Romans left behind, which still dominate parts of the Jordanian capital, my classmate commented, ‘when the Islamic revival or the Islamic state is established, these and other similar buildings should be destroyed – firstly because they remind us of the tragic history and the suffering of the Muslims, and secondly, these are un-Islamic and therefore, they ought be removed from Muslim lands’.

This depicts the sentiment of many people who, in the opinion of some writers, view the world and its development through a one-dimensional perspective. Continue reading Cultural mixing and the Qur’anic Generation

I have been following the discussion on ‘Rethinking the Niqab in the West’ and I think we need to step back a little and refocus the discussion on the substantive point of the discussion rather than go off on tangents. In my view there are two points:

1. The wearing of the Niqab in the West; and 2. The right to wear or not.

On the first point it is absolutely clear from the Shar’iah that the Niqab evokes two (I’m leaving the shades of grey out) opinions. Some say it is fard or wajib and others say it is not. There is no way to resolve this difference and we should simply take it as a benefit and thank Allah. Continue reading The elephant in the room